Isaias has strengthened into a hurricane and is forecast to rapidly intensify as it heads toward a U.S. landfall in the Gulf coast on Oct. 9, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Isaias became a hurricane less than 20 hours after becoming a tropical storm. It's the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, and the ninth named storm of the season.
As of 5 a.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 8, the hurricane center said Isaias' center is located about 420 miles south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River with maximum sustained winds near 80 mph with higher gusts. The hurricane is moving east-northeast around 9 mph, but a turn toward the northeast is expected later Thursday, followed by a turn to the north on Friday, Oct. 9.
Forecasters
said Isaias is expected to pass to the north of the Yucatan Peninsula later Thursday and make landfall along the northern Gulf coast of the U.S. late Friday or early Saturday.
Isaias could have winds of over 100 mph by Friday as it approaches the United States, according to the center's hurricane specialists. It's forecast to peak before making landfall, but could still be a "significant" hurricane when it reaches the coast, with strong winds and flooding rain, the hurricane center said. It should then dramatically weaken.
"We are expecting multiple dangerous, life-threatening impacts along portions of the northern Gulf coast on Friday," Mike Brennan, National Hurricane Center director, said Wednesday. Those impacts could include storm surge, heavy rainfall, flooding and hurricane-force winds.
From Friday through the weekend, Isaias is expected to produce rainfall totals between 3-7 inches, with localized totals up to 10 inches, across the central U.S. Gulf coast extending from far southeastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, with the Tennessee Valley and the Carolinas seeing anywhere from 1-5 inches of rain as well.
"Flash and urban flooding, along with isolated river flooding, will be possible," forecasters said in the advisory.
Isolated tornadoes will also be possible Friday night in coastal areas of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, in addition to southwestern Georgia, according to the hurricane center. The tornado threat will continue Saturday for eastern Alabama, Georgia and northern Florida.
Watches and warnings in effect
The greatest concern for storm surge is the area from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to Indian Pass, Florida, Brennan said. "This is where we could see 5 to 7 feet of inundation above ground level somewhere in this area, likely near and to the right of where Isaias crosses the coast."
A storm surge watch is in effect for the Steinhatchee River to Yankeetown, Florida, while a storm surge warning is in place from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Steinhatchee River.
A hurricane warning is in place from Ocean Springs, Mississippi to the Bay/Gulf County Line, Florida. A tropical storm warning was issued from the Jefferson-Plaquemines Parish line in Louisiana to west of Ocean Springs, Mississippi and also from east of the Bay/Gulf County Line in Florida to Aucilla River.
Hurricane Isaias path tracker
This forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm. It does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time.
Hurricane Isaias spaghetti models
Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest-performing models to help make its forecasts.
Contributing: Doyle Rice, Jeanine Santucci, Dinah Voyles Pulver and Michael Loria, USA TODAY
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Track path of potentially powerful Hurricane Isaias as it strengthens
